A wife and mom shares thoughts and ideas and tries to make sense of things.

Monday, July 28, 2008

True Grit

I have something I feel I need to share. Mark told me this story and it brought tears to my eyes.

A little background information:Mark and the boys are at Scout Resident Camp for a few days. There are 4 other dads and 10 other boys from our group there too. Everyone seems to be having a good time despite the heat and humidity. Swimming is a daily activity and a favorite one as you can probably imagine. Everyone has to take a swim test when they first arrive and then are classified into one of three categories: non-swimmer, beginner or swimmer.

Then there is X. He does not want to be there, or at least he does not want to participate in the activities. He did not want to canoe. He did not want to swim. He lags behind when they have to go from one area to another. There is nothing wrong with this boy physically. He is on the small side for his age, but healthy. I can only assume that his parents want him there, because he himself does not appear to want to be there.

On the other hand, there is a boy there from another group who contracted meningitis a couple of years ago. He now has a cochlear implant and is partially paralyzed. He had to learn to walk all over again. This boy passed his swim test to be a "swimmer." With one arm. He could be mad at the world or feel sorry for himself, but he does not. He goes after what he wants with the heart of a lion.

He probably does not realize what an example he is setting for the other boys at camp. I hope the other boys do.